Why?
by Tsugath
Summary: Oneshot He bent to pick up what he recognized as an envelope. Flipping it over, he caught his breath at the small yet distinguishable clan symbol that marked the corner. There was no mistaking who it could be from.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I worship the ground the author and various illustrators walk on,  
or I would if I was there. LOL.

**Why?**

_Beauty I'd always missed  
With these eyes before,  
Just what the truth is  
I can't say anymore._

**Sasuke**  
He waited in the appointed place, the chill wind wrestling with his hair and cloak. A branch cracked in the distance, his head lifted, eyes scanning the encroaching shadows for any sign of movement. Not sensing anything, a restless hand brushed the errant hair once again out of his eyes. It had been five years since he had come to this place. Not that he avoided coming here, but it seemed somewhat sacrilegious to profane the site of the major turning point in his life. The scars of the land had melded over, the craters filling in slowly through the work of wind and rain. Too bad the same could not be said of himself. Scars now crossed his once smooth skin like a roadmap to hell. Each a hard reminder of the path he had chosen to gain what he had once thought he wanted most in the world. His brother was dead finally, killed by his own hand a few weeks ago in Lightning Country. That event had precipitated his presence tonight within the borders of Fire Country.

**Naruto  
**It had been one of his rare off days when he had received the message that had him racing through the trees on a night that was cool enough to have him wishing for his bed and a bowl of warm ramen. He had been training in the old Team 7 area when a large raven had distracted him. It landed in front of him and dropped something at his feet before taking off to land on the top of a stump nearby. Once there, it fixed a beady eye on him and cawed loudly until he bent to pick up what he recognized as an envelope. Flipping it over, he caught his breathe at the small yet distinguishable clan symbol that marked the corner. There was no mistaking who it could be from. The news regarding Uchiha Itachi's death had reached Konoha the previous day. Without a thought to a possible trap, he slit the flap and opened the letter, the short message another hallmark of its sender. He glanced at the bird, still seemingly waiting for a reply, and nodded once before burning both the letter and envelope with a burst of red chakra. He had known this was coming for the last few years, deep down with a dreaded certainty that was uncharacteristic of his personality.

**Sasuke**  
For a fleeting moment, he believed the recipient of his message wasn't going to show, but the figure that arrived suddenly out of the darkness and paused just inside the tree line proved him wrong. He smiled to himself, a grim, mirthless smirk. It was time for the game the two of them had been playing for the last five years to end. He jumped from the tree he had been crouched in, and stood slowly, knowing the other's supernatural senses would have identified his location by now. A few silent footsteps, and he stood framed in the center of the clearing, his shadow deserting him to stand alone in the light of the crescent moon.

**Naruto  
**After burning the letter, he pondered over a steaming bowl of miso ramen. Technically he should tell his superiors of the contact with the missing-nin, but deep down he felt a kernel of loyalty that made him believe that act would be tantamount to a betrayal. They had always had a chemistry between them, a bond that others couldn't intrude upon no matter how hard Sakura tried. He had tried to define it once, in THAT place 5 years ago, telling his onetime rival that he considered him a brother. It had occurred to him that perhaps in some warped, twisted way the other considered him a brother too, after all, he had tried killing his flesh-and-blood brother also. He giggled at the irony to himself, almost choking on the mouthful of noodles. Flip a coin, who to kill, tails it's Naruto, heads it's Itachi? Now that one brother was dead, his rival had decided to finish taking out the other one, how fitting.

**Sasuke  
**He uttered no sound, voiced none of the thoughts going through his head at that moment. The boy he remembered had become a man while he was gone, and for a moment he regretted missing the change. Not being there to see and share in the experiences that had shaped the hardened look on the other's face. The wind blew, disturbing the branches of the trees and making the weak light dance on the forest floor. He looked away, unable or rather unworthy to take the next step. When the question came, he almost started, so wrapped up in his thoughts. Why? Why had he called the other out tonight? Or perhaps the question meant why had he left? He had attained the goal he had proclaimed the first day they had been united as a team. He had killed THAT MAN, and in so doing had avenged the deaths of his clan, but was it really worth all he had given up? He was no longer sure. It wasn't until the other closed the distance between them that he realized he had spoken out loud.

**Naruto **  
He returned to his apartment from the ramen stand and spent the next several hours sharpening his weapons, pondering the real meaning behind the message in the letter. The shick shick sound produced by the kunai running along the sharpening stone was oddly comforting. A couple of his friends came by, trying to get him to go out for dinner, but he merely smiled and said he already had plans. He idly wondered if they sensed his mood, for they just looked at him oddly and left with the promise of another day. He tried taking a nap so that he wouldn't be tired later, but was too restless to fall asleep, endlessly replaying their last parting in the Valley of the End. When the appointed time drew close he dressed dark, the better to blend in with the shadows. Slipping out the door he silently said his goodbyes to the little apartment he had called home all his life, not knowing if he would be returning.

**Sasuke**  
The punch was thrown so fast he didn't even see it coming, his head rocketing to the left with the force. He licked at the blood from his split lip and spit off to the side from where he had bitten his tongue. He deserved that, knowing it was only a fraction of what the other owed him. He looked back and met the eyes of the other, flinching inwardly from the coldness and anger shadowing the gaze. The words came hot and furious then, flowing out in a raging torrent that cut any remaining ground from underneath him as he stood silently under the onslaught. When the tirade of words finally stopped, he realized after the fact that a reply was being impatiently waited upon. He pondered silently, absently watching the shadows move on the sidelines, silent watchers to the ongoing spectacle. What was his excuse? He had none that made any sense looking back. He had gained what he wanted most in the world, the trade offs being killing the only person in the world he had been able to call friend, and then surviving three years of hell in the village of Sound. What did he expect to get by coming back now? That question was easier, and the three-word answer had the other stepping back, his face hidden in the shadows once more.

**Naruto  
**He arrived at the appointed place and paused in the shadows of the trees, sensing the chakra of his rival across the small clearing. It wasn't even a heartbeat later before the other jumped down and stood in the weak moonlight, his shadow stretching like some perverse path between the two of them. He stared, seeing the same face he remembered hardened by time and adversity, a scar ruining the once perfect face. Unable to control himself, he asked the first thing that popped into his head. The answer, when it came, was delivered in a dead monotone that infuriated him faster than he would have thought possible. Without prior planning, his body moved of its own volition and sent the other reeling from the punch. He let the words flow then, years of anger, hurt, and betrayal mixing together and flowing out in a stream that burned his throat like lava as it came out. Gradually the stream slowed to a trickle and he stopped for the reply, finding he was panting, trying to regain his lost breath. The answer, when it came, had him stepping back trying to recover his balance in a world suddenly under new rules. He looked away, unwilling, or rather unable to look the other in the eye. Who was to say what the correct action would be? Was it possible to rebuild a fraction of the trust they had before that fateful day five years ago? Could he forget the anger and pain he had lived with all this time? Would it be right to? He could only hope he was making the right decision as he stepped forward again, the shadows on the ground melding into one cohesive whole as only the moon looked upon the two in the clearing.

_Beauty I'd always missed  
With these eyes before,  
Just what the truth is  
I can't say anymore._

_Some try to tell me  
Thoughts they cannot defend,  
Just what you want to be  
You will be in the end,_

_'Cause I love you,  
Yes, I love you,  
Oh, how, I love you._

_ -_Excerpt from_ Nights in White Satin _by the_ Moody Blues_

**Author's Note:  
**Well, that is my first one-shot. I hope it wasn't too hard to follow, I wanted to play with Point-of-view more than I've done in my other two fics. Reviews are appreciated, since this is so out of my normal mode of writing. Let me know what you think (offers everyone some almond pocky, my personal favorite!) .


End file.
